I'll Be Home For Christmas
by whereverwithyou
Summary: Pam's back in town for the holidays! But will the plans for a perfect Christmas be ruined when Phoebe goes missing? (You may want to read "The Lost Halliwell" prior to this.)


I'll Be Home For Christmas

By Patricia L. Bryans

_Disclaimer: I know, I said that _The Lost Halliwell _was my series finale of Charmed, but I feel like I have to go on with it. The only characters I own in this story are Pam, Stella, Andy, Josh, Mark, and Branock._

_I also use a ton of shows, movies, songs, and companies that are not mine in this fic. The story is set in December 2012. _

_If anyone cares, the description I give of the Halliwell Christmas tree is based on what the tree at my house looks like every year, right down to the train set and "unorthodox" lights. (Although I don't have a triquetra ornament.)_

_If anyone reading this lives in San Francisco, I'm sorry but I didn't research the last date it snowed there, so if I got it wrong… oops. _

"This is ridiculous," Piper muttered to Leo as they stood in an incredibly long line. "I'm calling Paige, there's no way we can make it in time." She struggled to find a new way to hold all of the merchandise she was about to buy while finding her cell phone in her purse. About three shirts fell out of her hands and onto the floor. Piper sighed as she picked them up. "Hold these," she instructed Leo as she placed nearly every item of clothing she had in his arms, on top of the mountain of things he was already carrying. She searched her phone directory until she came to "PAIGE- HOME". The phone started ringing.

……………………

Paige bent over to lift one of the various large baby toys scattered throughout her house. The phone rang. The sound startled her, and when she turned, she heard her back crack.

"Ah!" she said. She put down the heavy baby toy and rubbed her back as she made her way to the kitchen. She picked up the cordless phone. "Hello?" she said unenthusiastically.

"Hey, Paige, I'm glad I caught you at home," Piper said. "Listen, when you get to the airport, could you tell Phoebe that Leo and I can't make it? Macy's is just way too crowded today."

"I would tell her, if I was going," Paige answered.

"What?"

"Magic School just let out for the holidays yesterday. I have to decorate today, or I'll never be able to get my shopping done in time. I was going to call you and ask you to tell Phoebe that I couldn't make it. It's a shame she won't get her convoy of family members like she was hoping for."

"Paige, how do you expect to get everything done by Christmas? It's the already the 22nd! You're leaving yourself two days to shop? What if you don't finish decorating today?"

"I will," Paige said. She started to move around the house again. She pinned the phone between her cheek and shoulder as she went to pick up the baby toy again, despite the fact that her back still hurt. "It would be a lot easier, though, if I didn't have all these toys to clean up first!" Some figurines fell out of the toy and scattered onto the floor. "Dammit!" she whispered so that the kids wouldn't hear her. "Every year you get your house done before the rest of us, Piper. How do you do it? Phoebe and I should have the advantage, since I can orb things to their places if they go in a hard-to-reach location, and Phoebe can levitate."

"Well, I tell you two every year…"

Paige realized what Piper's answer would be as she collected the figurines. "Oh, not the schedule again!"

"Yes the schedule again," Piper answered. "If you just wrote out a list of things to do and when to do them, you could have decorated the house little by little every night once you got home from school, and you'd be in the middle of shopping by now like I am. I don't know how you expect to find gifts for your kids, my kids, Phoebe's kid, your parents, me, Phoebe, Josh, Leo, your lovely husband Mark…"

"Alright, I get it! I'm already under enough stress without you telling me about everyone I have to get a gift for!" Paige lifted the baby toy again. She walked it to the stairs, carefully balancing it so that the figurines wouldn't fall again.

"By the way, how are my boys doing over there?" Piper asked. "Are they causing any trouble?"

"No, they're fine. They're watching cartoons in the other room right now." The figurines fell again. Paige was nearly fuming by now. "This holiday is always portrayed as peaceful and nice and happy and easy, but you have to run yourself ragged in the process of getting to it! Bah humbug!"

"If you're so grumpy about it, why do I hear 'It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year' in the background?"

"That is a bad attempt to get me into the Christmas spirit. It's not working, obviously." Paige picked up the toy again, and the figurines fell out, again. She finally just stuffed them in her bra and carried the toy upstairs. "This is such a crazy holiday."

"Well, it would be less crazy if you followed the schedule."

"Piper, you must be the only person in San Francisco who _has _a schedule." Paige looked in an overstuffed box of Christmas decorations. "Every year my students give me more gifts, and every year I have less space to put them!" She took out an angel holding a candle and desperately looked around for a place to put it that was out of reach of the babies, but yet not out of sight and not near anything flammable. She didn't find any. The CD in the background changed tracks. "Well, I'll see if Phoebe's cell phone gets service in the airport and tell her that we both can't be there. If I can't get her, I'll orb."

"Okay, bye. Try to relax!" Piper advised. Before there was the "click" on the other end, she heard in the background,

"…_Grandma got run over by a reindeer_

_Walking home from our house Christmas Eve._

_You can say there's no such thing as Santa,_

_But as for me and Grandpa, we believe._

_She'd been drinking to much eggnog_

_And we begged her not to go._

_But she forgot her medication_

_And so she staggered out into the snow._

_When we found her Christmas morning_

_At the scene of the attack,_

_There were hoof prints on her forehead_

_And incriminating claw marks on her back…"_

"Paige has the weirdest taste in Christmas soundtracks…" Piper muttered as she put away her phone. "How long is this line? Is everyone in the world waiting to purchase Christmas gifts?" Piper asked rhetorically. She was growing impatient. She took back the clothes she'd handed Leo and gazed over at the jewelry counter next to her. To her surprise, a demon shimmered in right in front of the display case. She instantly dropped all of the clothes onto the floor and froze the area. Before she could react further, the demon threw an energy ball. Leo grabbed Piper's shoulder and orbed them both in place so they wouldn't be harmed. A second later, they reappeared. Piper quickly blew up the demon.

"Well, at least it wasn't a messy one," she muttered as she brushed off the clothes she'd dropped. "Can you believe he just shimmered in like that? We're in Macy's, for crying out loud! Does he know anything about keeping the magical world a secret? I sure hope nobody noticed him…"

"Uh, Piper?" Leo interrupted.

"What?"

Leo just pointed to the large toy box they were about to buy. It had been behind them, and now had a large scorch mark from where the energy ball had hit it.

"Oh, crap," Piper said, disappointed. "Alright, go get another one. I'll keep the place frozen for you." Leo started to walk away. "I just hope no one comes in…"

……………………

"I can't believe they all can't make it! I was counting on greeting Pam with the whole family standing here, y'know, to show that she's welcomed. Now the two of use just look stupid with all of these balloons," Phoebe complained to Josh.

"Well, not everything always happens as you hoped it would," he answered.

"Now arriving from JFK Airport in New York City, Flight 119," A man said over the loudspeaker.

"That's Pam!" Phoebe said excitedly. "She should be coming down here in a few minutes!" She made sure all of the balloons were arranged accordingly. "I still can't believe the Richardsons let her come here for Christmas…"

"You know what they said on the phone. They're all going in different directions at this time of year. All of the cousins and sisters and uncles can only get together sometime in early January, so Christmas with just Pam and her parents would be boring," Josh explained.

"I know what they said; I just can't believe we got so lucky!" Phoebe watched the escalator for her daughter. She wished that people were still allowed to wait in the gate areas. It would be a lot more convenient. But she understood the security protocols and all of the obvious reasons for not letting people back there anymore.

Phoebe recognized her daughter as soon as she appeared. "There she is!" She exclaimed to Josh as she pointed to Pam on the escalator. "Pam! Over here!" She waved. Pam smiled and waved back. She got off the escalator and walked up to her mom. She was instantly embraced in an almost smothering hug. "Oh, it's so good to see you, honey! I missed you so much!" Phoebe said. "We all missed you! I'm so sorry that Piper and Paige couldn't make it here. I even bought all of these balloons for us to hold!"

"I was wondering what they were all for," Pam commented.

"C'mon," Josh said, "Let's get your luggage."

……………………

"Hey, Piper. Are you still wrapping Christmas gifts, or is it safe for us to come over?" Phoebe waited for the response on the other end of the line. "Okay. Is everyone going to be there, because we're not coming if…" She was interrupted by her sister. "You're sure? Alright. See you soon. Bye." She turned her phone off and stuffed it back in her purse. She looked at the street sign as their car passed it. They were almost to Prescott. "So, Pam, how's High School?"

"Hard," Pam answered truthfully.

"Yeah, I thought the same thing when I was your age," Phoebe replied. "How are you handling your powers?"

"It was kind of hard at first, but now I can control them pretty well."

"Good. Have any demons attacked you since the last time I called?"

"One, but the potion you sent me worked fine."

"Have you, uh… told your parents yet? About your powers?"

"…Yes. Well, sort of. I had to, I mean, back in June they thought I was crazy when I told them I could turn invisible. But then once I could control it, I _showed _them. They were really freaked out at first, but I think they're pretty much okay with it now. They understand that they have to keep it a secret. I've tried to explain to them about The Charmed Ones and demons and everything, but they don't really get it."

"Well, that's okay. At least they don't think you're insane anymore," Phoebe pointed out.

They turned onto Prescott Street and passed Phoebe and Josh's house. "The decorations look pretty," Pam commented.

"Yeah, but they're nothing compared to Piper's house," Phoebe said.

Pam looked at the house next door. All of the lawn ornaments were dark. "When does Piper turn her lights on?"

"You see, _she _has a schedule. She always turns hers on…" Phoebe looked at the car clock. "In three, two, one…" The Manor was ablaze with glitz and glamour as they turned into the driveway.

"Wow," Pam said. She admired the view as she stepped out of the car. "How does she do all of this?"

"The schedule!" Pam heard. She turned around to see her Aunt Paige next door struggling to string her lights while balancing the ladder she was standing on. It was neat that all three sisters lived next to each other in a row, but the houses were by no means alike. Paige finished her string and climbed down onto the grass. "Piper will probably explain to you all about it once we get inside."

"I missed you, Aunt Paige," Pam said.

"Come here, you," Paige said as she hugged her niece.

"Wasn't Mark going to do the outside decorations?" Josh asked.

"He _was_, but instead he's inside watching football with Leo and guzzling up Piper's eggnog."

"Ooh, how are the 49ers doing tonight?" Phoebe asked.

"I dunno, I've been out here trying to get my house to look half as nice as Piper's."

"One of these years we're going to have to start following that schedule," Phoebe confessed.

"C'mon, let's go inside. I'm sure Piper has a fire going," Josh said. He and Pam started walking towards the Manor.

"Uh, Paige?" Phoebe started.

"What?" Paige asked. Phoebe pointed to her chest. One breast was strangely larger than the other. "Oh!" Paige took one of the figurines from the baby toy out of her bra. "I can't believe I forgot about that!"

"Okay, I'm not even going to ask," Phoebe said. She turned around and headed inside.

……………………

"Hi!" Piper said as Pam walked in. As soon as she entered the foyer, she breathed in the smell of cinnamon. There were probably scented candles burning somewhere. It set the perfect tone for the season. "I'd hug you, but I'm covered in flour!" Piper held up her hands to show that the palms were almost completely white. Her apron was powdery, too. "I'm baking cookies for Santa Claus," she explained.

"Oh, right!" Pam understood. Wyatt and Chris weren't old enough yet to stop believing in Santa yet.

"Pam!" Chris said happily. He and Wyatt ran up to their cousin and hugged her. "We missed you!"

"I missed you guys, too," Pam replied. "Are you exited about Santa Claus?"

"Yes!" Chris said.

"We're trying really hard not to be naughty so we don't get coal!" Wyatt said.

Piper smiled. "Alright, everyone in, shut the door. It's cold out there."

"It's nothing compared to New York," Pam commented.

"I bet," Phoebe said. "You guys probably get snow every year. We haven't had snow here in… How long, Piper?"

"Twenty years, I think."

Everyone made there way into the living room, where Mark and Leo were sitting watching the game. They cheered as the 49ers scored.

"How're we doing?" Phoebe asked as she sat down next to them. She reached to pour herself some eggnog.

"Okay, first thing first," Piper began, "The red bowl is adult only eggnog. The green bowl is the one without alcohol."

"Where are the kids?" Paige asked Mark.

"In the playpen," he said, pointing over his shoulder. Paige went in the direction he'd pointed to check on her twins.

"We're ahead by six," Leo informed Phoebe. "Seven if we make the extra point…" They watched as the ball was kicked into the air. It sailed perfectly between the goal bars and bounced off the safety net behind it. They cheered. Piper disappeared into the kitchen.

Pam looked around at all of the decorations. All of the antiques with all of the festive colors created a beautiful effect. She walked over to the Christmas tree and admired the tall evergreen. Each ornament that cluttered the tree was different. There were some that were traditional, like glass balls and snowflakes, and others that had meaning, like "Baby's First Christmas: 2003," a handmade angel, and one that read, "Merry Christmas Mommy and Daddy," which was a sloppy-looking ornament obviously made by Wyatt or Chris in school one year. Pam smiled as she came across a triquetra ornament.

The lights on the tree were also unorthodox. Some just stayed lit, some twinkled, and some blinked. And underneath the tree were presents of all shapes and sizes. Depending on who they were from, each one had different wrapping paper. A toy train whirled around the tree trunk, encircling the presents like a fort. If someone described the tree to you, you would think it was an ugly disaster. Instead, every un-matching, clustered thing blended together to form one of the most dazzling Christmas sights Pam had ever seen. The tree even _smelled _like Christmas somehow. It sure beat her artificial tree back in New York.

As Pam looked around the tree, she realized that every member of her family back to her great grandmother (and one ornament dedicated to Melinda Warren) was somehow there, one way or another. Except her. It was almost as if they still didn't know she existed. Pam tried to reassure herself that there would be some things added to the tree for her this year.

"Hey Pam!" She turned as she heard Wyatt's voice next to her. He grabbed her by the hand. "C'mon, let's play video games. Chris bet me that you can't beat him!" Pam followed him as he dragged her upstairs.

Paige looked over where Pam had been standing. "We need to get an ornament with Pam in it," she commented. "Uh-huh," Phoebe answered. But Paige knew she hadn't heard. She was too sucked into the football game.

……………………

"Alright, everyone! Dinner!" Piper called. Wyatt and Chris orbed into the dining room and sat down.

"Hey! Care to orb me, too?" They heard Pam complain through the ceiling. She started down the stairs. Piper walked into the living room to find Josh, Mark, Phoebe, and Leo all still glued to the game.

"C'mon, you guys. Dinner time."

"Yeah, yeah, in a minute," Leo said, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Piper sighed and rolled her eyes. "Phoebe?"

"Alright, fine." Phoebe placed her hand on the TV set and closed her eyes. "We win by a field goal," she concluded.

"Yes!" Mark said. The three guys gave each other high-fives.

"Okay, you know the final score, now come eat," Piper said. She ushered everyone into the dining room and flipped off the TV. She replaced it with "Silent Night" in the CD player.

……………………

After dinner, everyone sat in the living room and talked about previous Christmases. They laughed at funny memories and passed around the photo album. They watched some home movies. Pam just sat silent. She couldn't say "Oh, and remember when…" or "Oh yeah, that was great!" She was practically invisible. So her name was on a piece of parchment known as the family tree. Big deal. It didn't make her feel any more like a Halliwell. When the clock chimed nine, Piper sent her boys upstairs. They didn't want to go. Pam wished she could say "I'm tired, too," and go upstairs, just to get away from feeling so left out. But she was staying next door, so she had to wait until her mother finally decided to stop reminiscing. Around eleven, the three of them went back to their house.

"Piper, did you notice that Pam wasn't really that chatty tonight?" Paige asked.

"Not really… but now that I think of it, you're right. She didn't say much at all. Normally she's so talkative. Is she feeling alright?" Piper asked.

"From what I can tell, physically, she feels fine. Emotionally… no."

"What do you mean? How do you know that?"

"Well, I remember my first Christmas with you guys. I was the same way. She feels left out."

"Oh. I never thought about that. We should make sure Phoebe realizes."

"You can tell her," Paige said as she lifted one of her sleeping babies gently out of the playpen. "But I am going home. I need to get an early start on shopping tomorrow." Mark took the other child and they headed for the front door.

"Okay, bye," Piper said as they left. She sighed as she picked up the phone. "Poor Pam."

……………………

"Good morning," Phoebe said as Pam shuffled into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Pam groaned back. She opened the fridge and searched for the bagels.

"How did you sleep?" Phoebe asked.

"Fine."

"Um, listen, Pam… Piper noticed that last night you seemed a little… down."

"Well," Pam thought, "At least someone noticed me."

"Are you okay?" Pam didn't answer. "Paige thinks she knows what you're going through. You feel left out, don't you?"

"You're the Empath," Pam felt like sniping. But she knew that would be rude. She also knew she was sending out mixed emotions, so it would be hard for her mom to realize how she really felt.

"Look, honey, I'm sorry you haven't spent any holidays with us before. But we're all going to make this Christmas a good one. Paige says you can talk to her about it if you want to, because she felt awkward too when she first spent Christmas with us." Phoebe hugged her daughter. "I promise I'll make this Christmas special for you. You won't want to leave by the time you have to go back to New York. Now, why don't you tell me about some of _your_ past Christmases?"

Just then, a demon appeared in front of them. Phoebe instantly levitated and kicked him. Pam turned invisible and pulled a knife out from one of the drawers. Phoebe continued to fight with the demon while Pam snuck up behind him. Phoebe grabbed a nearby Santa snow globe and smashed it over the demon's head. He staggered backwards slightly, and Pam used the opportunity to slice off a piece of his flesh. The demon yelped in pain and shimmered out. Pam re-materialized.

"Nice job," Phoebe said as she scooped up the tissue sample. "I hope this makes a kick-ass potion, because that demon made me break Grams's snow globe!" Phoebe put the flesh on a plate. "Do you have a clear picture of what he looked like?" She asked Pam.

"Yes," Pam answered.

"Good. Go over to Piper's house and search The Book for him," Phoebe instructed.

……………………

"I'm back!" Pam called as she walked inside.

"Did you find anything?" Phoebe asked as she threw some dried rose petals into her potion-pot and stirred. Pam entered the kitchen with the Book of Shadows.

"His name is Branock. Lower-level. Nothing that serious," Pam informed.

"Okay, good. The last thing we need is some powerful demon out to kill us at Christmastime." Phoebe read through the demon's description. "Okay, I'll finish the potion, summon him, and vanquish him. It's a one-witch job really, so you can just watch TV or something until I'm done. Then maybe we'll do something together."

"Okay," Pam agreed. She shuffled towards the TV and turned on _The Year Without A Santa Claus_. Even though she'd seen it a thousand times already she still sat through it. She found it puzzling that this movie was at least forty years old, yet hardly any other "25 Days of Christmas"-worthy movies had been made. Pam sighed as she watched the Snow Miser's big musical number… again. Her mom had said it herself; there was nothing else to do.

……………………

Phoebe finished the summoning spell and waited as Branock appeared. Once she saw him, she immediately threw the potion. That was when a very strange thing happened. One second the potion was headed straight for Branock and he hadn't even completely gathered his surroundings, and the next, the potion was broken on the cement floor and Branock was nowhere to be seen. He didn't have the power to blink, and Phoebe would have noticed him shimmer. It was like he just disappeared.

Suddenly, Phoebe felt someone grab her from behind. An athimae was held against her neck. She looked up and saw that it was Branock. How had he done that? He grinned at the joy of capturing a Charmed One. His teeth were yellow and rotten.

"Make one sound and you're dead, witch," he said. His breath was worse than his teeth. Branock reminded Phoebe a lot of Argus Filch from the Harry Potter movies. She remained still as they shimmered out.

……………………

"Hi Pam," Piper said as she strolled in the front door and over to the couch.

"Hey, Aunt Piper. What are you doing here?"

"I need to ask your mom a question. Where is she?"

"Vanquishing a demon in the basement."

"Which one?"

"Branock. Heard of him?"

"He sounds familiar… lower-level, right?"

"Uh-huh."

Piper looked at the TV screen as a little puppet girl sang, "I'll have a blue Christmas without you…"

"Have you seen this before?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, but nothing else is on. I don't know which channel is which over here anyway."

"Well, Wyatt and Chris are watching the Spongebob Christmas Special next door if you'd like to come over and watch that with them."

"Well… maybe. I've seen it less times than I've seen this. How far is the episode through?"

"Umm… when I left they were at the part where they call that squid guy an ass without really saying it."

"Oh, well it's almost over then. It's not worth going next door to watch it for four minutes."

"Whatever, suit yourself." Piper shuffled down the hall to the basement door.

……………………

Phoebe used a martial arts move to escape Branock's grasp. She looked around. They had shimmered into some kind of cave. Branock thrust an energy ball at Phoebe from his place in the dirt.

"Whoa!" she said when she saw it. She levitated above it, and it collided with the wall behind her. She returned to the ground. "How did you do that?" she asked. "You're not supposed to have that power!"

"Oh, it's just a little early Christmas gift from the Power Brokers," Branock answered. Phoebe scanned the area. There was no clear way out. "Along with this," he said. Immediately he was behind her, and had her trapped in his clutches again.

That power was too fast for Phoebe to react against. Strangely enough, even after being a witch for fourteen years, she had never been up against a demon with super-speed. She thought that maybe battling him with the same techniques she'd used against blinking warlocks would help her escape. It didn't. She called for Leo. Maybe if he came he could destroy Branock with one of his elder-powers. Or if Branock was too fast, Leo could see her dilemma, go get Piper, have her freeze Branock in place, and then destroy him.

"Your whitelighter can't hear you, witch. This place is protected. Perfect for stowing Charmed Ones." He laughed evilly. Phoebe realized that if Branock had _wanted _to kill her, he would have been trying harder.

"Why don't you just kill me now?" she asked.

"Because I want all three of you in one place. You'll get to see each other die!" Phoebe kept her mouth shut. She knew it would be unwise to point out the flaws in Branock's plan. If all three of them were together, Piper could freeze him, they could use the Power of Three spell, and Paige could orb them out. It was common for lower-level demons to plot things without thinking them completely through. Branock smirked at Phoebe and shimmered out. Immediately she tried to find an exit. There was no secret door, no un-sturdy kickable walls, no trapdoor… no nothing. She uselessly called for Leo again. Phoebe tried to calm herself down. Her sisters would soon realize she was gone, and force Branock to tell them where he'd hid her. All she had to do was wait. She'd been trapped like this before… Cole had sealed his penthouse with her inside. But there had been an unsealed vent then. This time, there was nothing.

……………………

"Phoebe?" Piper called from the top of the stairs. "Are you down here?" No answer. Piper felt for the light switch and flipped it. Nothing happened. The bulb must have burnt out. She started down the staircase, squinting in the darkness for any sign of her sister. "Phoebe?" she called again. She reached the bottom step and looked around. One of the first things she could make out through the darkness was a light bulb box. She took one out and replaced the dead one that was hanging from the ceiling. The room lit up. "That's better."

When she turned around, she instantly jumped. There was a demon not two feet from her face. She tried blowing him up, but it didn't work. He formed an energy ball in his hands. Piper froze him before he could attack. She climbed rapidly up the stairs and into the kitchen, where there was still a pot full of potion and The Book open to Branock's picture. That was him alright. Piper grabbed the pot. No time to pour some into a vial. She rushed back down the stairs just as he was unfreezing and tossed the entire potion on him. He screamed in pain and vanished into a pile of ash. Piper breathed a sigh of relief and shuffled back up the stairs. Pam entered the kitchen as Piper was putting the empty pot in the sink.

"What was that?" she asked.

"That was Branock," Piper replied. "I vanquished him."

"My mom didn't do that already?"

Piper stopped, remembering why she'd gone down to the basement in the first place. "I couldn't find her down there."

"You don't think Branock…"

"Leo!"

He orbed in. "Piper, I'm right next door. Couldn't you walk over and…"

"Ask you to sense for Phoebe," Piper finished. She read Branock's description to herself as Leo closed his eyes.

"Well?" Pam asked, worried.

"I… I can't sense her anywhere," Leo concluded.

"Does that mean she's…"

"No, not necessarily," Piper reassured Pam. "We've had this happen to us a bunch of times before, and nine times out of ten we weren't dead. Unfortunately though, I think I just vanquished our only clue to Phoebe's whereabouts." She sighed as she looked in The Book again. "That's odd."

"What?" Leo asked.

"In the basement, Branock had an energy ball. In The Book, it says he doesn't use energy balls."

"Are you sure it was him?" Pam asked.

"Positive, unless he has a twin. Why don't we just use the 'To Call A Lost Witch' spell to find Phoebe?" Her and Pam crowded by The Book and read aloud.

"Powers of the witches rise, course unseen across the skies. Come to us who call you near, come to us and settle here. Blood to blood, I summon thee. Blood to blood, return to me." Nothing happened. Pam started to look worried again.

"Uh, let's see if we can scry for her," Piper suggested. "Leo, why don't you go check with the elders, just to make sure… you know." Leo nodded and orbed out. Piper grabbed The Book. "C'mon," she motioned to Pam. They headed next door.

……………………

Piper groaned. "Leo!" she called again, "Have you found out anything yet?" The only answer she got was the stereo in the background singing "Have a holly, jolly Christmas; it's the best time of the year. I don't know if there'll be snow, but have a cup of cheer…" She turned back to Pam at the kitchen table. "Anything working?"

"No," Pam sighed. "She's not anywhere on the San Francisco map, on the California map, the U.S. map, the globe, this crudely-drawn underworld thingy…"

"I get it," Piper said. Leo orbed in. "Finally! What's going on? Where's Phoebe?"

"They don't know."

"What? What do you mean they don't know? They know everything… well, everything except the difference between good rules and stupid ones, but…" Piper sighed. "So they really have no idea?"

"None of us can sense her, which means—"

"She's dead, isn't she?" Pam interrupted, panicking again.

"Pam, honey, in this line of work, that's the last thing that should cross your mind. Leo, let's think of some other times when you couldn't sense Phoebe," Piper advised.

"Uh, well… there was that time when she and Prue were in that ice cream truck."

"You see, Pam? Phoebe could probably just be in some place out of the Elders' sensing range. They do have a sensing range, right Leo?"

"Well, sort of. But to not be able to sense her would mean that she's probably in some place that's protected from whitelighter magic… and it would have to be a pretty powerful fortress."

"But that doesn't make sense. Branock was just a lower-level demon," Piper murmured. "How could he produce a shield strong enough to not only enclose Phoebe, but keep Elders from sensing her? And it must be protected against spells and scrying, too. We're not getting anywhere."

"Maybe Branock had help," Leo suggested.

"Who would want to help him?" Pam asked, looking at his picture again.

Just from his appearance, you could tell that Branock hadn't been the brightest of demons.

"Maybe it wasn't _his _plan to capture your mom. Maybe _he _was the accomplice. He did have some abnormal powers… who have we faced with abnormal powers?" Piper asked.

"Cole," Leo said.

"Oh, I hope not. But I don't think so. Something tells me that he's not coming back, based on how it was the last time we vanquished him." She stood there pondering, flipping effortlessly though The Book. Suddenly, the pages started to turn by themselves. Pam jumped back, startled at what was going on. "Oh, it's just Grams," Piper explained. "Or Prue…" The pages stopped. Piper read aloud. "The Power Brokers… of course! They must have given Branock extra powers. But that doesn't really help us find Phoebe…"

The three of them continued to think aimlessly, until Leo decided to go see if the Elders had found out anything else. Pam went into the other room and curled up in a ball on the couch. Piper came in and sat next to her.

"Some Christmas, huh?" she mumbled. Piper stroked her hair.

"We'll find her. Don't worry."

"It's too late to not worry. How are we supposed to find her if we don't know where to turn?"

"We'll find a way. Just don't give up hope."

……………………

Phoebe sat in her little cave, worrying about a million things. Did her sisters know how to find her? Would she ever get out? Did they think she was dead? Phoebe sighed at the though of Pam. She'd promised her a great Christmas, and now she was letting her down. What if she never got out of the cave? Pam would definitely have her worst Christmas ever if that happened. What time was it? It could have been the 24th already for all Phoebe knew. She thought of her daughter sitting in front of that Christmas tree, sad and weeping and all alone. The image made her feel terrible. As her eyelids grew heavier, Phoebe laid her head down against the dirt and slowly drifted off to sleep.

_I'll be home for Christmas,_

_You can count on me._

_We'll have snow and mistletoe,_

_And presents under the tree._

_Christmas Eve will find me,_

_Where the love light gleams._

_I'll be home for Christmas,_

_If only in my dreams._

……………………

Pam couldn't sleep. She checked her watch. It was two o'clock in the morning. There was really no point in trying to sleep now, since all she could think about was if her mother was dead or not. Everyone else seemed almost casual about it, like it was commonplace for a close family member to go missing without a trace. Well, it probably was, but that didn't make Pam feel any better. They had already lost one sister, so why would this time be any different? Pam had just met her mother in June, and now she might never see her again. Piper and Phoebe had to wait eleven years after Prue died to see her again. Pam didn't want to wait that long. She had to see her mother right then and there!

Earlier, she hadn't felt like trudging back over to her house just to crawl into bed, so she pretended to fall asleep on the couch in the Manor after a long day of worrying. It had fooled Piper, who had simply draped a blanket over her and left her be. Pam shuffled up to the attic and stared at The Book.

"Why can't you answer everything I need to know?" she whispered, half to herself, half to It. She parked herself on the sofa and thought some more.

Pam had to know the truth, even if it was personal gain. She flipped through the endless lists of spells and demons. Once she found her desired page, she lit five candles and read the spell. "Here these words, here my cry, spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee, cross now the Great Divide." Inside the circle of candles, white lights began to appear. Pam watched nervously to see which family member would be there. It was Prue.

"Pam," she said, surprised at her sudden summoning.

"Hi, Aunt Prue. I… I need you to tell me something," Pam said.

"What?"

"Is… is my mom… up there? Y'know, with Grams and the rest of you guys?"

"No," Prue said. "Why, is she sick?" She was concerned now.

"I don't think so. I hope not. But we're really not sure of anything now. You see, there was this lower-level demon, so my mom went up against him alone. But the Demonic Power Brokers had given him extra powers that she wasn't prepared for, so he captured her. We think she's somewhere that's protected from whitelighter sensing and Wiccan spells. I was just so worried that maybe she was dead…" A single tear ran down Pam's cheek.

"It's okay," Prue insured. "You'll find her."

"That's what everyone's saying, even though everything they've tried all day hasn't worked. I'm just scared that I'll never see my mom again. She might never be home for Christmas… I've never been up against something like this before."

Prue embraced her niece comfortingly. "There's a first time for everything, Pam. Your conflicting feelings will pass. You can do anything if you put your mind to it."

"I can't find my mom," Pam complained. "I've only been a witch for six months; I can't do all the things everyone else can!"

"Well, actually, you've always been a witch. You just started controlling your powers six months ago. You set your mind on that, and look how far you've come. All you have to do is concentrate."

"Do _you _know where she is?"

"No. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean that I can see and learn whatever I want." Pam walked over to The Book at the podium. She searched for something that might provide clues to why none of the Elders could sense her.

"I know it's early," she said to Prue, "but as long as you're here… would you like to stay for Christmas?"

"Of course!"

……………………

"Prue?"

"Piper!"

"What are you doing here?" Piper asked as she hugged her sister hello.

"Right now, I'm admiring your Christmas tree. The train around the bottom looks nice."

"Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving. Every year, someone, and usually me, goes to pull out a difficultly positioned present in bare feet and steps on those little metal tracks… oh, they hurt like the devil! Getting that was probably one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made." Prue laughed at the scene Piper had painted in her head. "Well, it wouldn't be funny if it happened to you. So anyway, how did you get down here?"

"Pam summoned me."

"Pam?"

"Yeah. She was feeling really insecure about her powers and abilities."

"And you talked to her about it?"

"Yes."

"And how does she feel now?"

"She's up in the attic working on our dilemma right now." Piper was surprised at how she reacted when Prue had said "our dilemma." It had been nearly twelve years since Prue had been a Charmed One. She smiled as she reminisced.

"Have you seen Paige?"

"Not yet."

"She's probably still beat from shopping plus sister-searching… You should have seen her rushing around this week."

"She doesn't follow the schedule, does she?"

"Nope. C'mon."

Prue followed Piper up the stairs to the attic. As they neared closer to the door, they heard rhyming.

"Pam's not casting a spell, is she?" Piper asked.

"I don't know," Prue replied. They entered the attic.

"Pam, what spell did you cast?" Piper asked. Pam didn't have a chance to answer before she disappeared. "Oh, great, now where did she send herself off to? She could be in a ton of danger right now for all we know!"

Prue picked up a piece of paper off the floor. It had the spell Pam had written on it. "Well, for her first spell, this isn't half bad."

"What does it say? Where did she go?" Piper asked.

"She thinks the reason that the Elders can't sense Phoebe is because she's on a different plain of existence."

"Why didn't we think of that?" Piper pondered aloud. "So what did she do, transfer plains?"

"Exactly."

"Well, we have to go after her! There could be demons or something in those other plains, and Pam's a psychic, so she doesn't have a very offensive active power! She could get seriously hurt out there!"

"Well then go after her," Prue said.

"Right!" Piper recalled. "Seeing you here is making me forget that I don't have to debate with you before deciding on something!"

"Are you saying that I never took your side on anything?"

"No, I… oh, there's no time for this! I have to go wake up Paige."

……………………

Pam made her way around the rock formations as she journeyed along. She was in some kind of cave. Every twenty feet or so, Pam would see if she could read the thoughts of anyone. If she could, than there was someone in the area. She wondered how long this other plain went on for, or if she even had the right one. What were there, like twelve? She couldn't remember. Pam could be searching for days; maybe even weeks. She just hoped she wasn't too late. What was she doing there anyway? This whole "different plain" thing was just a theory. She should've consulted Prue before going off like super-witch.

Pam closed her eyes and let her telepathic power loose once again. She was so used to sensing nothing that she nearly jumped when she heard a voice in her head. "I'm never going to get out of here…" It said. Pam listened closer. Hopefully she could recognize it as her mother's and find her. "Pam is going to have the worst Christmas of her life." She was sure of it this time. Her mom was close by. Her voice seemed to be generating from the other side of a nearby wall. Pam put her hands against the cold rock formation. Perhaps she could feel a change in temperature if there was something on the other side. She started tapping on the rocks. Each spot sounded the same… until one.

Pam pounded on it. "Mom!" she shouted. "Mom, are you in there!"

Phoebe heard the voice, but barely. It was muffled by the thick stone. She rushed over to the wall and pounded a reply. "Pam? Pam, is that you!"

"Mom, I'm here!" How in the world was she going to get through to her? "Mom!" she shouted again.

Meanwhile, Piper and Paige had cast the spell and entered the plain.

"Did you hear that?" Paige asked.

"Yeah. It's Pam." They followed the sound. "Pam? Where are you? We're coming!" Piper shouted ahead. They approached Pam as she continued to bang away on the wall.

"She's on the other side," Pam explained. "Aunt Paige, can you orb in there and get her?"

Paige immediately turned into whitish-blue lights. The lights flew towards the wall, and then bounced off and re-formed into Paige on the ground. It was as if she had been repelled by some sort of unseen shield.

"It must be protected from orbing," Paige said as she stood up.

"Yeah, well, maybe it's not protected from this!" Piper forcefully thrust her hands at the wall. It was instantly blasted to rock fragments. "Hey, it worked!"

"Mom!" Pam exclaimed.

"Pam!"

They hugged. "I was so worried that you were dead!" Pam said, sniffling.

"I was worried about ruining your Christmas!" Phoebe replied. "Don't worry Pam. I'll never leave you. Even when I die, trust me, I'll find some way to come back…"

"Good job, Pam," Piper said.

Pam turned around. "What?"

"Well, we couldn't have found your mom without you. She was trapped in a fortress protected from whitelighter sensing. Without your mind-reading abilities, she probably would have died."

"Well then," Pam smiled, "I guess I have a better control over my powers than I thought."

"Good job," Phoebe said as she patted her daughter on the back.

"Kudos," Paige added.

"Now," Piper said, "Let's get out of here."

"Good, I have to go shopping."

……………………

Pam opened her eyes and groggily looked around. Her room was lit by a grayish-bright light pouring in from the window. She smiled when she remembered what day it was. Christmas morning. Possibly the best day of the entire year. She started to pull back her covers, but crawled back under when the bitter cold hit her skin. For California, it sure was cold. But Pam knew staying in bed would hold up everyone else's holiday, so she braved the temperature. She opened the curtains on her window and couldn't believe her eyes. It was snowing. Her face instantly lit up.

"It's snowing!" she announced. She dashed out into the hallway. Phoebe and Josh poked their heads out of her bedroom door.

"What?" Phoebe asked.

"It's snowing outside!"

"Really?" Phoebe asked. She looked out the window. "Well I'll be."

"C'mon, they can't start opening presents without us!" Pam said as she headed for the stairs. It had become an annual Halliwell tradition for everyone to open their presents at the Manor every Christmas.

"Aren't you going to get dressed first?" Phoebe asked.

"What for?"

Phoebe smiled. "Alright, but you have to at least put on your coat and boots before you go outside in that mush."

"I didn't bring any boots. I figured it wouldn't snow."

"And you didn't think of rain? Well, use mine then."

……………………

When they arrived next door, Piper was in her bathrobe listening to Wyatt and Chris begging to go play outside in the snow.

"You can go out _after _we open presents!" Piper said. It seemed as though she'd already told them that ten times, and they'd just continued to beg. Piper looked over at Phoebe, Josh, and Pam as they shed their coats and removed their boots. "Hey guys. This is something, huh? Hasn't snowed in San Francisco in twenty years…" Piper looked out the front door at the winter wonderland. "Ah, here comes Paige." She opened the door as the family shuffled up onto the front porch. "Careful on the steps, I think they're a little…" Piper stopped as Mark pelted her with a snowball. Paige laughed. "Icy," Piper finished. "You're gonna pay for that, Mark, just you wait!"

Everyone shuffled into the living room and crowded around the Christmas tree.

"Santa came!" Chris exclaimed when he saw the presents bulging out from under the tree.

"Okay everyone, annual Christmas family photo," Prue said. "Gather around the couch." She waited until she could get everyone in the shot, and the set the camera timer. She raced over and positioned herself on the couch's armrest next to Paige. Everyone smiled as the camera flashed. Prue made sure the photo came out alright. "Okay," she said approvingly. Everyone looked at the picture on camera screen.

"Pam," Phoebe said, "I know that you've been feeling a little left out this Christmas. So, in order to welcome you as a Halliwell…" she took a small package out from under the tree. "… I got you this." Pam opened the box and pulled out a large tree ornament. Instead of being decorated with ornaments, the tree was decorated with faces. Under each face was a name. Pam read the ornament to herself. "Halliwell Christmas 2012: Piper, Leo, Phoebe, Josh, Paige, Mark, Prue, Wyatt, Chris, Stella, Andy, Pam."

Pam smiled and hung the ornament on the tree. "Thanks, mom." They hugged. "You _have_ made this Christmas special."

"Okay then," Piper said, "Wyatt, would you like to hand everyone their stockings?" she suggested.

"Just let me get the video camera first," Leo said as he quickly retrieved it from the kitchen. Wyatt passed out the stockings. Everyone was please with what they got, even Prue, who didn't get much because they weren't expecting her and had to run around crazily on Christmas Eve. Piper removed some presents from the tree, and in trying not to step on the train set, she derailed it and ended up stepping on the tracks anyway. She clenched her teeth, as if she could grind the pain away. "I should just wear sneakers on Christmas!"

Once everything was opened, thank-yous had been exchanged, and wrapping paper and ribbon littered the floor, everyone went outside for some fun in the snow. They built a snowman, and Piper got Mark back by shaking the branches of the big tree out front, thus showering him with snowy powder. After about two hours, they came back inside for some hot cocoa and lunch. Pam turned on the TV to _A Christmas Story_.

"Oh, I love this movie!" Paige exclaimed.

"I love this part, right here!" Phoebe said as she pointed to the screen. A kid stuck his tongue against a pole. He tried to pull it away, but it didn't budge.

"Stuck!" he panicked. Everyone laughed.

"But still, I don't like how they portray witches in this…" Prue commented.

"There's witches?" Pam asked, puzzled. "I never noticed that before."

"Well sure. At the part where Ralphie gets a C, his teacher's dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West and starts taunting, 'You'll shoot your eye out, you'll shoot your eye out…'"

"Why do we always watch this if we've seen it a thousand times?" Piper pondered.

"Because it's so damn funny!" Josh replied.

"Well, I've never seen _It's A Wonderful Life_," Pam commented. "We could watch that."

"You've never seen that movie?" Paige asked, stunned. The sisters gasped overdramatically. "What about _National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation_?"

"Nope."

They gasped again. "Well, we'll have to watch it tonight!" Phoebe concluded. "The ending is priceless!"

So they ordered the movies on pay per view. Prue took some more pictures. Afterwards, everyone gathered at the dining room table for Christmas dinner. Pam looked out the window as more snow started to fall. Despite all that had happened over the last day or so, this had definitely been a perfect Christmas.

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas,_

_Let your heart be mild._

_From now on our troubles will be out of sight._

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas,_

_Make the Yuletide gay._

_From now on our troubles will be miles away._

_Here we are as in olden days,_

_Happy golden days of yore._

_Faithful friends who are dear to us_

_Gather near to us once more._

_Through the years we all will be together,_

_If the fates allow._

_Hang a shining star upon the highest bow._

_And have yourself a merry little Christmas now._

THE END

A/N: There's one more Pam story left in my list… _Pamela Halliwell: Wiccan Outcast_. Please R&R!


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